Psalms 30
Psalms 30:1-12 (NLT)
1 A psalm of David. A song for the dedication of the Temple. I will exalt you, LORD, for you rescued me. You refused to let my enemies triumph over me.
2 O LORD my God, I cried to you for help, and you restored my health.
3 You brought me up from the grave, O LORD. You kept me from falling into the pit of death.
4 Sing to the LORD, all you godly ones! Praise his holy name.
5 For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime! Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
6 When I was prosperous, I said, “Nothing can stop me now!”
7 Your favor, O LORD, made me as secure as a mountain. Then you turned away from me, and I was shattered.
8 I cried out to you, O LORD. I begged the Lord for mercy, saying,
9 “What will you gain if I die, if I sink into the grave? Can my dust praise you? Can it tell of your faithfulness?
10 Hear me, LORD, and have mercy on me. Help me, O LORD.”
11 You have turned my mourning into joyful dancing. You have taken away my clothes of mourning and clothed me with joy,
12 that I might sing praises to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever!
In running to God after the failures of our own efforts, there is access to His favor and rescue from certain peril. The crying out to and pursuit of God for this doesn’t change His position towards us, but it puts us in the most necessary position of humility and trust in what only He can provide. His mercy and favor are ever hovering in waiting for the heart that comes to Him in desperation for them. How great it is to remain in this position of continual humility before the face of God, never leaning upon our acquisitions or abilities, even those that obviously come from Him. Praises don’t have to wait for the threat of the pit to be fully engaged and turning the heart to complete surrender and dependence on God’s presence and purpose. Especially by the power of the Spirit’s gifting, there need not be a departure from anything but total immersion in His presence with complete dependence on His mercy and favor. In that secret place, safety is secured from worldly enticements and passion is kept on the One who responds to humble prayers with overwhelming and empowering favor.
Correction is rarely fun, yet it is in God’s correction that true joy comes through at the release of all the things that would bind us. It is in that exchange place that our brokenness, hurt or bondages are exchanges for joy, and our weeping or anger, into singing.